Africa Watch – Washington (kind of) strikes back

The United States will provide $100 million to Ghana and four other West African countries—Benin, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo—to help deal with violent extremism and instability, Vice President Kamala Harris said. According to Harris’ office, the sum is in addition to the $139 million that Washington intends to provide to Ghana in 2024. Harris was in Accra, the latest in a series of visits by senior US officials as Washington seeks to strengthen partnerships and counter growing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent. Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated that he was concerned about Wagner’s presence in West Africa.

Ms Harris’ visit conveniently coincides with the recently concluded Russia-Africa summit in Moscow. The VP’s aid pledge is particularly instructive. While soundbites from her Ghana visit focused on human rights and shared economic cooperation, the substance has focused on security in two crucial ways: countering violent extremism within the region and the wider international security framework amid the growing east-west divide.

The security aid could be seen in symbolic and practical terms. For one, it is a sign of deeper US engagement with the continent on its most pressing priority: national security. More practically, coastal West Africa, which is now receiving its share of jihadist violence, needs this aid. In recent years, the US has faced increasing competition from China and Russia, which have both sought to expand their influence on the continent. China, in particular, has been investing heavily in Africa, financing infrastructure projects, providing loans, and engaging in diplomatic outreach. Russia has also been increasing its engagement, offering military assistance, conducting arms sales, and seeking to deepen ties with African leaders.

The announcement is also significant for Ghana, a key US partner in the region. The country has been the recipient of significant US assistance in recent years, including support for democracy and governance programmes, as well as security assistance to counter threats from Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The announcement also raises questions about the broader implications of US engagement in Africa and whether the US can compete effectively with China and Russia. While the US has a long history of engagement with Africa, it has struggled in recent years to match the scale of Chinese investment and Russian military assistance.

Beyond the allure of security assistance which now largely colours US-Africa relations, Ms Harris is the most senior US official that has visited the continent since the Obama administration. In comparison, after the worst of the coronavirus pandemic passed, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a trip to Rwanda in light of similar trips in 2018. Newly minted foreign minister Qin Gang started his term in January with a weeklong trip to five African countries. In fact, every Chinese foreign minister for the last three decades has started each year with a trip to Africa. It tells the story of a strategic competition which lies at the heart of Africa’s ties. American security assistance juxtaposed with economic development cooperation barely scratches the surface of building a durable partnership. Furthermore, Ms Harris’ stated concern for human rights has pitted her and the US foreign policy establishment against most Africans who see such advocacy, particularly for issues such as LGBTQI+ rights, as ill-advised.

While the US seems missing in terms of major project loans to Ghana, Chinese loans, however, have been a reliable funding source for major projects since 2000; in two decades, West Africa’s biggest producer of gold has racked up close to $5 billion from at least 41 Chinese loans. Although the Chinese hardly disclose the terms of their deals, the US has demanded certain human rights values, such as the abolishment of any law to criminalise LGBTQI+ activities. This has become the basis for an unfavourable view of Washington on the continent compared to its great rival in the east who is more interested in brisk business. According to an Afrobarometer survey, tolerance of LGBTQI+ activities in Ghana only polls at 7%. The powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of Ghana has cautioned President Akufo-Addo to reject any grant or loan from the US if it is conditioned on altering its LGBTQI+ stance.

It is not all roses for Beijing; its perception as a purveyor of debt and naked economic ambition is beginning to ruffle more than a few feathers across the continent. Nonetheless, the cards are slightly stacked in its favour. The US and its human rights allies on the continent are in a bind and an increasingly costly game where one side seems to hold most, if not all, of the aces.